The industrious hum of power tools filled the hall of the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center as union carpenters on their day off built park benches, stools, and tables. Meanwhile, less than a block down Kingsessing Avenue, a small army of community and nonprofit volunteers were sprucing up a lovingly landscaped green space that was awaiting the newly crafted furniture.
There were newly planted trees, berry bushes, pollinator-attracting plants, even strawberries. You might call it a garden, but it’s really more than that.
“This is an outdoor community center,” said Kimberlee Douglas, director of Thomas Jefferson University’s landscape architecture program and its Lab for Social and Urban Innovation.
